After paying off its debt of Rs 2 lakh crore, Essar is starting the next phase of its growth by investing in hydrogen projects, constructing an LNG import facility and retail chain, and establishing steel facilities. Director of Essar Capital Ltd. Prashant Ruia stated that Essar now has companies in the main industries of energy, metals and mining, infrastructure, services, and technology, and that these industries will be the focus of its future goals.
It plans to build steel mills in Saudi Arabia and Odisha as well as a terminal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Gujarat's Hazira. The business is constructing a blue hydrogen plant in the UK, where it owns an oil refinery, and it is
looking at options for establishing a green ammonia facility in India. Essar has set up a unit to sell LNG to lorries and plans to establish a network of locations dispensing the eco-friendly fuel. By repaying debts totaling Rs 2 lakh crore over the last three years, we have finished what is undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the biggest, deleveraging exercises, he said on the sidelines of India Energy Week here. According to him, the group has now entered a new phase of its growth cycle. With its current sales of USD 15 billion and EBITDA of USD $1 billion, the new ventures it is pursuing would increase these numbers.
Over the years, Essar spent Rs 2 lakh crore in a variety of industries, including ports, steel mills, oil refining, retailing of fuel, power generation, mining, shipping, and telecom. The largest FDI in the industry, it sold its fuel retailing network and oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat to a consortium led by Rosneft from Russia for more than Rs 86,000 crore (USD 13 billion). Insolvency proceedings resulted in the sale of its steel factory to a company led by ArcelorMittal.
Essar presently holds companies in the essential industries of energy, metals and mining, infrastructure, services, and technology, according to Ruia. It has business interests in the exploration and production of oil, gas, and coal bed methane in India, Vietnam, and Nigeria; oil refining and retailing in the UK; and power generating in India and Canada. It pumps 0.8 million standard cubic metres of gas each day, making it India's largest coal-bed methane (CBM) producer.
